Hospice Chaplain Ordained Lector, Exorcist, Acolyte, and Sub-Deacon

 FIRENZE-NUOVA ROMA 23 August 2020 (ORCNS) -- The Reverend Brother Elliott Francis, TOR Mar was ordained to the minor orders of Lector, Exorcist, and Acolyte and further to the Sub-Diaconate yesterday. The rites were officiated by H.H.E. the Archfather and took place in his private chapel. Brother Elliott is a hospice chaplain and continues with his studies towards the priesthood. He also holds the office of Guardaroba (Wardrobe Master) of the Patriarchal Household and is a veteran of the US Army. 

In the Anglo-Roman Rite used by the Anglican Patriarchate (Anglican Rite Roman Catholic Church), the ordination to the orders of Lector and Exorcist involve the laying on of a single hand by the ordaining bishop while imposing the Breviary and a book containing the rites of Exorcism respectively. The ordination to the order of Acolyte involves the laying on of both hands while the ordinand holds an unlit candle in the right hand and an empty cruet in the left. Each object imposed signifies the nature of the ministry of the particular order. 

At the ordination to the sub-diaconate, the first Holy Order that serves directly at the altar in the Holy Mass, both hands are laid on by the ordaining bishop, invoking the Holy Spirit. The new sub-deacon receives the amice, alb, maniple, and tunicle, the vestments of the sub-diaconate. The Book of Epistles is also imposed, signifying the right to read the Epistle at the mass. After the ritual, a chalice and paten are presented for the new sub-deacon to touch, signifying his ability to hold the Sacred Vessels. Similarly he is presented two cruets, one with wine and the other with water, and a lavabo basin and towel to touch in further symbolism of the role of the sub-diaconate. 

The Archfather ordains Brother Elliott as an Acolyte.

The Archfather imposes the Book Epistles during the
rites of ordination to the sub-diaconate. Brother Elliott
is vested in the tunicle and maniple,
the vestments of a sub-deacon. 

The Archfather and Brother Elliott after the ordination.

Statement of Archfather Rutherford I on the Eve of the Assumption 2020

FIRENZE-NUOVA ROMA 14 August 2020 (ORCNS) 

Statement of H.H.E. Archfather Don Rutherford I
on the Eve of the Feast of the Assumption 2020

Tomorrow, 15 August, we celebrate each year the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Our Lady, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heaven. Although believed from the time of the early Church, this was dogmatically defined by Pope Pius XII in the Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus. 

 (...continued below...)

The Assumption of Mary

The Assumption follows the dogma of the Blessed Virgin’s Immaculate Conception by which she was preserved free from original sin. It was that state that prepared her to be, if she so decided to be, the Mother of God. Our Lady, of course, did so consent upon the message of the Angel and accepted the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. It was through her free choice and obedience to the will of God that Our Lord and Saviour was able to come into this world, and thus the Word became Incarnate.

Tradition holds that Our Lady was assumed into Heaven from what is now known as the Holy House of Mary in Ephesus, Roman Empire, in modern-day Turkey. We had the privilege of making a pilgrimage last summer to the Holy House. 

Relic of the Holy Belt of Mary in the
care of the Anglican Patriarchate

Also, tradition holds, as depicted in many paintings, that Our Lady dropped her girdle down to one of the Apostles. This is called the Holy Belt of Mary. The Anglican Patriarchate counts among the most sacred objects entrusted to its care a piece of the Holy Belt, which came to us via the Byzantine Roman Empire. 

Archfather Rutherford during a 
pilgrimage to the Holy House
of Mary in Ephesus.

Indeed, long before the formal dogmatic definition by Pius XII in 1950, the glorious Assumption of Mary was a part of the Christian Faith. It was an official feast by the mid-ninth century when it was set by Pope Leo IV. St. Gregory of Tours is among the earliest church official to speak officially of the bodily Assumption of Mary. Scriptural evidence also exists. In the 8th century, Pope Sergius I also celebrated the feast. It was during that time that our Diaconal Church in Rome, Santa Maria Antiqua, was prominent and later used as the seat of the Bishop of Rome. Indeed, the Church of Santa Maria Antiqua, located in the Roman Forum, contains the earliest-known still-intact depiction of Our Lady as Queen of Heaven. 

May our Lady on the Feast of the Assumption bestow her blessing upon each of you, that you may each be brought thereby closer to Our Lord and Saviour. 

Rear Admiral of the Patriarchate Appointed

By Jean DuBois

RAdm HSH the Duke of Metz

FLORENCE-NEW ROME 20 July 2020 (ORCNS) -- H.S.H. the Duke of Metz was recently appointed Rear Admiral of the Patriarchate in the Walsingham Naval Guard by H.H.E. the Archfather. The position is an honorary and ceremonial office within the Walsingham Guard with ancient roots. It recalls to the old days of sail and naval warfare in which a fleet at sea would often be organized into three squadrons, with one each commanded by the Admiral, the Vice Admiral, and the Rear Admiral. In the Walsingham Naval Guard, this position is ceremonially equivalent to the second assistance to the Chief of the Naval Guard in honor of that history. Today the position is conferred as a recognition to a worthy individual, and only one individual serves in the role at any given time. 

The Duke descends via the House of Arnulfings and was raised in the high mountain desert of Wyoming. With a diverse educational and cultural background, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Security and a Master of Business Administration and also holds high professional and military certifications in Homeland Security, Emergency Management, and Cyber Crime & Terrorism prevention. 

Flag of Rank of a Rear Admiral
of the Walsingham Naval Guard

     An Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America, the Admiral remains very active in service and philanthropy supporting various charitable outreach programs both he and his wife hold dear. The Duke has received honors in Scouting to include: the NESA Outstanding Eagle Scout Award; Silver Antelope for service to the 13 states of the Southern Region; Silver Beaver; the Sea Scout Leadership Award; and, most recently was honored as the Southern Region BSA Alumnus of the Year. He is a recipient of the U.S. President's Volunteer Service Award for Lifetime Achievement. 

     The Duke served honorably in the United State Navy Intelligence community and countless Federal, State and local agencies in combating threats from cyber-terrorism and cyber related crime. He is a founding member and served on the original board of directors for the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s InfraGard (National Members Alliance) program.  He was instrumental in expanding the Homeland Security grant program following 9/11 to include cyber threats and was the subcommittee chairman for Cyber Security for the Multi-State ISAC.  Currently, the Duke is employed as the Corporate Information Security Officer (CISO).

         For more information on the Walsingham Naval Guard, please see: www.anglicanritecatholicchurch.org/navalguard

In Crusader Spirit, Bishop Jones Holds Sword During Sermon Against Desecration of Hagia Sophia

By Jean DuBois

NORTH CAROLINA 25 July 2020 (ORCNS) -- In response to the declaration of the Church of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul (historic Constantinople) as a mosque rather than an ecumenical shrine, 24 July 2020 has been declared a day of mourning for Christendom. The Muslim Imam ascended the pulpit of the Hagia Sophia, once the largest church of the Christian world and the center of the Eastern Roman Empire, with an Ottoman sword as a sign of conquest. The goal of retaking at least part of Jerusalem was declared.

In response to this vicious desecration and bigoted attack on Christianity, Bishop William Jones preached a sermon in which, holding a sword himself, he reiterated the importance of defending the Church and the Faith. He stated that several centuries of history of the Ottoman Empire was no justification for this act by Turkey. In fact, modern Turkey was invaded by the Turks. Before that it was a Latin Empire of Constantinople, and before that the Byzantine Empire -- Christian lands. The Church of the Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) was built by the Emperor Justinian and remains at its heart a Christian Church, now occupied by the Mohammedans.

Sermon video below.

Desecration of Churches and Christian Statues

FLORENCE 18 July 2020 (ORCNS)

Statement by Archfather Don Rutherford on the recent desecration of churches and Christian statues. 

If you ever wonder “what in the devil” is going on these days in our world, where disruption, discontent and destruction are the new norms, you are not far from the truth. Just look around.

For, the devil really is in the details.

And those details are everywhere the Church’s adversaries show their faces.

Of course these days, the devils who hate the Church, the devils who destroy religious objects...who decapitate statues of Jesus, the Blessed Virgin, and the Saints, who desecrate churches hide their faces in shame because they know that they are wrong. They are the new Taliban, the ones who want to destroy our way of life.

They know that hate is wrong. They know that defiling a church is wrong.

They lack souls. So they engage in desperate acts to find one.

They lack God’s love, and the capacity to love God, or even to love themselves. Thus, they lack forgiveness. And as a result, they lack hope.

If they have ever known love at all it is the conceit of their destructive opinions.

They are so frustrated, so full of self-loathing and self-contempt and painfully skewed self-awareness that their world is a living hell where they can never know peace.

Hate consumes them like a cancer that must spread, simply because it exists...and because we exist.

That’s why they must try to drag us all down to their miserable level. Because if God is good, the opposite of God is evil. Destroy God, and the Adversary can begin to call evil good.

That’s the devil of it all.

Ego Archipater R. 

Archfather Authorises New Short Version of Name of Patriarchate

The insignia of the Anglican
Patriarchate, containing the key
of St. Peter crossed with the
sword of St. Mark. The Patriarchate
is among those that make use
of the papal tiara in heraldry
stemming from its unique
heritage and privileges.

PATRIARCHAL SEE 5 July 2020 (ORCNS) -- The Archfather has authorised "The Anglican Patriarchate" as a short version of the name of the Anglo-Italian Imperial Patriarchate, Anglican Rite Roman Catholic Church. The short name succinctly describes the patriarchate's Roman Catholic and Anglican Rite heritage and is unique in history. The Curia has also reiterated that no names are being changed, but that this new short version is only an addition.

Condolences on Death of Pope's Brother

Msgr. Georg Ratzinger
Credit: Ricardo Ciccone
Creative Commons License

ROME 01 July 2020 (ORCNS) - The brother of the Holy Father Benedict XVI, Monsignor Georg Ratzinger, died on 1 July 2020 at the age of 96. He was a Canon of Regensberg since 2009. The Florentine Archfather expressed his condolences to Pope Benedict, saying, "Wir sprechen dem Heiligen Vater Benedikt unser aufrichtiges Beileid für den Tod seines Bruders, Monsignor Georg Ratzinger."